Bobby Gene Hopper

1932 - 2022

Bobby Gene Hopper of Springdale, Arkansas, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family, on July 29, 2022, at the age of 89.

He was born in Cotter, Arkansas, on December 14, 1932, to William Eatman and Essie Thomas Hopper.

Bobby served in the United States Army in Okinawa during the Korean conflict. Following his service, he returned to Arkansas where he married Lois Oels from Mountain Home, Arkansas. They moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they had two children, Regina and Robert Hopper.

In 1969, Bobby and Lois moved the family to Springdale, Arkansas, where he was one of a few young men chosen by Ford Motor Company to build a local automobile dealership, Bobby Hopper Ford. Thousands of customers, including founders and family members from the region's Fortune 500 companies, came to know Bobby's trademark phrase -"Don't Say Ford. Say Bobby Hopper Ford!" - on billboards and in television commercials. Working with Lois, he built the business and became not only a local business owner but a community, state and national leader.

The list of Bobby's service and leadership award accomplishments is long. He was a member of the Springdale Civil Service Commission, Arkansas and American Automobile Dealers associations and Springdale Rotary Club, where he also served as a board member and was honored as a Paul Harris Fellow. Bobby also served as a board member of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce, which honored him with lifetime membership status.

Bobby also had a special interest in giving to the community, funding projects for the Springdale-based Northwest Medical Center and the Springdale Fire Department. He also provided land to establish a park for the Springdale Police Department which was later turned into a baseball and soccer park for children's sports.

Bobby's work on the state and federal levels resulted in economic and social development for northwest Arkansas, the state and the nation.

He was appointed to the Arkansas State Highway Commission by then-Gov. Bill Clinton in 1983 to fill an unexpired term. He was reappointed by Gov. Clinton to a second term in 1989, for a total of 16 years of service as a commissioner. Bobby also served twice as chairman of the commission, first in 1987-1988 and again in 1997-1998.

As someone who loved people, believing in leaving things better than he found them, Bobby's dream was to bring greater and meaningful economic development for the people of the state and for northwest Arkansas specifically. He knew the region could be a global leader if the transportation system could support it. His dream was fulfilled with the opening of what is now I-49 and the dual tunnel, the first of the state, and he was honored when the Highway Commission chose to name it after him.

Interstate 49 and its Bobby Hopper Tunnel became the connection point for unprecedented economic expansion, not only in northwest Arkansas, but throughout the three-state region.

In addition to the tunnel, Bobby's name is on the Sheid-Hopper bypass in Mountain Home and the Bobby Hopper Highway in Cotter.

Bobby is survived by his wife, Lois, of Springdale, children Regina Hopper of Alexandria, Virginia, and Robert Hopper of Cabot, Arkansas, and his sister, Beverly Morton of Mountain Home.

A visitation for Bobby will be held noon to 1 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, at Roller Funeral Home in Mountain Home, Arkansas, with a celebration of life service to follow. The service also will be live streamed on the Roller Funeral Home Mountain Home website.

The family requests no flowers. Memorial tributes for Bobby may be made to either Circle of Life Hospice at www.giftstocircle.org or Honor Flight Network www.honorflight.org/donations.

Arrangements are under the care of Roller Funeral Home. Please visit an online guestbook at rollerfuneralhomes.com/mtnhome.